The Time Travelers: Genin Days
by Melynite
Summary: After investigating Orochimaru's lair, Boruto Uzumaki and Sarada Uchiha find themselves trapped in the past. Hoping to keep themselves secluded so as to not disrupt the narration of the old generation, the duo can't help but get entangled in their parents' lives and they soon come to realize the disturbing history that their families endured.


"Don't touch that!"

"But it looks weird…"

Sarada pulled Boruto's arm as he reached for a glass atop a dusty shelf. Their surroundings were grim; too dark for anything to catch the eye. When they first entered the room she thought nothing of the sinister decoration, but Boruto's mischievous eye had caught something that piqued his interest: a pair of human eyeballs, as black as her own, floating in a jar, morbidly staring back at them.

It sent shivers up her spine.

He insisted on taking a closer look. They were on a mission in which stealth was the key element. Despite knowing this, he rummaged through whatever he found interesting, shoving things aside in search of a new treasure, all the while making as much noise as possible. After a while she began to think it was intentional.

At first she only sighed and ignored him, but the eyeballs made her uneasy.

"Sarada, let go!"

She could hear the fabric of his clothes tighten as his outstretched arm nearly reached its limit. She almost felt sorry for him, trying so hard and all. But she couldn't let him have it. Fed up, she shouted, "No! We're here for a reason you idiot!"

His fingers only grazed the smooth exterior of the glass before she finally yanked on his free arm, successfully pulling him down from atop the sturdy desk he stood on.

"W-what!" The sudden jerk caught him by surprise and he fell, landing on his behind. As if instinctively he rolled over to clutch his two cheeks, a little tear dribbled down his eye as he glared at her.

She wanted to laugh, but she knew it would just encourage him to act a fool. "Did that hurt?" she asked, opting for sarcasm.

He rolled over several times as though he were on fire. "Why would you do that? Now my butt hurts!"

She let out a long, exhaustive sigh. "You know, sometimes I can't believe that you're Lord Seventh's son," she said, disappointed. She took a step back and placed a hand on her hip. "It's upsetting."

He scoffed and stood up while rubbing his butt cheeks. The little tear dribble disappeared. "And I can't believe you're Uncle Sasuke's daughter," he retorted.

Was he taunting her? She raised an eyebrow and crossed her arms. "What's that supposed to mean?"

He quickly patted his clothes down and mirrored her image, looking smug. "You're just not as cool as he is."

"Hmph." What did she care? "I'm fine with that. I'd rather be like Lord Seventh anyways."

He frowned, seemingly displeased by her response."Tch." It was the only sound he made before he turned his head away from her, an act she saw as childish. Between the crossed arms and his pout, he looked like the spoiled brat people always thought him to be. Even though he mumbled it, she heard him say something along the lines of "that old man" and "who wants to be like him".

She thought about saying something, but chose to remain quiet. She let him continue to mutter things under his breath until he quieted down. Before she knew it there was an uncomfortable silence between them.

The only sound was of something dripping in the distance in a rhythmic tune, slightly relieving the tension. They stood noiselessly, letting the hypnotic beat take them away into their own thoughts.

In that quiet Sarada couldn't help but gaze at him, examining the little details on his face. They were in a gloomy setting and yet his yellow hair and blue eyes twinkled. His long whiskers were reminiscent of his father, who carried the Nine-Tailed Fox inside of him. She smiled. He was ferocious on the inside, but on the outside he shined. His look suited him.

Boruto quickly looked up, and without warning their eyes met. It took a brief moment, but eventually she could feel heat rise to her face in a panic.

He tilted his head, an act that made her blush even more. "What's the matter with you?" he asked.

"N-nothing."

"Uh-huh." He grinned cheekily. "Your face is as red as a tomato."

"A tomato?" Of all the things to compare her to. A brief argument she had with her father fleetingly played through her mind. "My face is fine," she said, regaining her cool.

"Whatever you say." Moving on, he looked around nonchalantly, then took his usual stance, placing his arms above his head as he positioned one leg behind the other, leaning to the side. It was a habit of his that was particular only to him. The familiarity was overwhelming "So…why are we here anyways? I don't remember my old man giving us any missions."

This time she made sure not to stare too long, only shrugging her shoulders in response. "I'm not sure. To be honest, Mitsuki was the one who said we had to come here."

"Mistuki? Hey where did he run off to anyways?" He looked around again. "Wasn't he with us when we snuck into this creepy place?"

"Yeah but, he wandered off, remember?"

"Uh… nope."

"This was after he told us that stealth is pertinent and then you insisted on being obnoxious."

"Hmph." He folded his arms and muttered under his breath, "I'm not obnoxious."

She sighed, something she realized she did often when she was with him. "Let's just find him and see what else he needs us to do."

"But if this isn't a real mission why'd we come here?"

" _Because_ , Boruto, we're a team and that's what teammates do. We have to do this."

He rolled his eyes. "Really, we don't _have_ to do this. You're the one who always insists that we _have_ to do everything together. I could be eating a delicious burger right now, but instead I'm in this creepy place." He walked past her and headed towards a narrow doorway. "Let's just find him and go. I'm hungry."

It took everything in her not to say anything, so she remained silent and followed him out.

Patiently Sarada walked behind him, examining the dreary doors and stone walls they passed as they moved on. She noted their withered design and weakened structure, thinking that they looked all too familiar.

But doors and walls couldn't hold her interest for long. Instead she focused on following Boruto as he walked confidently on ahead, admiring his back as he strolled down the hallway. His slim physique and cocky strut made her smile, but just like the narrow doorways and the stone walls, it all felt too familiar. His walk, his sometimes serious personality, even the way he dressed with his gloomy black outfits… it reminded her of something, or better yet, _someone_. She couldn't put her finger on it.

She rubbed her head, a little ashamed to think that she found it all alluring. It had become difficult for her to not develop some sort of attraction towards him. Lately the two had gone on several missions together, fighting side by side, even retrieving an old woman's cat (who kept running away), and in that short time she had grown a deep appreciation for him.

Of course, she would never tell him that.

As though feeling her eyes on him Boruto turned his head slightly. Her eyes widened. She knew he had caught a glimpse of her smiling.

His walking pace uninterrupted, he raised a brow. "Why are you smiling?"

The heat rose to her face again and she instinctively looked at her feet, embarrassed. Twice in a day was too much. "I wasn't," she responded defensively.

"Yeah you were, I saw you."

Her head snapped up. "I said I wasn't."

"If you say so."

It bothered her that he didn't push a little more. Mentioning that to him would only make him more suspicious of her behavior. "Let's just find Mitsuki," she said.

"Find me? But I'm right here."

The pair jumped and fully turned to see their comrade standing innocently with his hand halfway up, waving.

Boruto pushed past Sarada and grabbed Mitsuki by his collar. "Hey, what's the big idea scaring us like that? You could've given me a heart attack!"

Mitsuki gently pushed Boruto's hands off of him and patted down his robes. "You're too young to have a heart attack, Boruto. Although, with the way you eat it could happen in the next thirty years or so."

"That's not the point!"

"Boruto, you're being obnoxious again!" She had thrown the concept of stealth out the window. She wondered for a moment if anyone was even there. With how loud they had been, they surely would have been caught by now.

"What? But he—"

"I don't care! You've done everything to annoy me since we got here!"

"This is true," Mitsuki said, "I could hear Sarada yelling at you from down the hall."

Boruto folded his arms. He tilted his head and closed his bright eyes, feeling both irritated and enraged. "Why the heck are we even here? I could be eating right now."

"Healthy foods, I hope."

"Mitsuki I swear, if you don't tell me what you dragged us down here for I'll—"

"I believe my father has been experimenting with synthetic humans again. I was worried he would try and replace me, so I asked you two to help me search."

They fell silent. A little weirded out and in disbelief Boruto's mouth dropped open.

Initially surprised as well, Sarada didn't let the awkward atmosphere continue for long. She straightened out her demeanor and walked up to Mitsuki, placing a firm grip on his shoulders, smiling. "Mitsuki… your mom—I mean your dad, isn't going to replace you."

Boruto leaned in next to her, which caused the kunoichi to blush, and gave their sullen comrade an assuring thumbs up. "Sarada's right, you shouldn't worry about it." Impishly he scratched the back of his head, thinking back to how he had aggressively seized his clothes. "Sorry I… grabbed you earlier."

Mitsuki grinned. "You were going to threaten me as well."

The blonde ninja glanced at his boots apologetically. "I'm sorry about that too, man."

The synthetic boy nodded in return and then inspected his collar. "You also grabbed my shirt, now my clothes are wrink—"

"Alright, I think we're done here!"

"Boruto stop yelling at him," Sarada chimed in, choosing to remain as quiet as possible. She took her hands off of Mitsuki's shoulders and massaged her temples. "Mitsuki," she started, more seriously this time, "you should've told us what we were specifically looking for instead of just saying 'look for something weird'. Boruto almost grabbed a jar full of human body parts."

The blonde scoffed, "Well it looked weird, and that's what he asked for!"

Like Boruto, Mitsuki glanced down contritely. "I'm sorry. Sarada you're right, it would've made things much easier if I had been upfront with the two of you. Now we're stuck in here and I don't even remember the way out."

It took him a second, but the blonde ninja reeled in what his teammate had just said. "You don't… remember the way out? What in the—"

Mitsuki shook his head, disappointed in his own absence of memory. "It's like a maze down here. But I'm not too worried, surely with Sarada's sharingan, finding an exit won't be a problem."

The raven haired girl nodded after hearing her name. On cue, she summoned the red and black kaleidoscope and observed her surroundings, struggling to find an opening that would lead them into the outside world.

"Hold on…" Boruto whispered, skeptical. "Can she see through walls or something?"

She sighed, annoyed at his question. After knowing her for the entirety of their childhood she figured that he would at least be aware of her capabilities at this point. The girl digressed and answered anyway, "I can't. I can only see chakra through walls." She combed throughout the lair, growing frustrated. "It's difficult. There's chakra everywhere."

Mitsuki's expression twisted in moral disturbance. "It must be my father's experiments. A lot of them require large amounts of chakra. Sarada, can you—"

"Wait." her gaze became more intense as a cloud burst of chakra caught her eyes. Something about it struck her as odd. Instead of the bland colors that she could normally see, this foamy chakra appeared gold and shined like metal. "That's so strange…"

"What? What is it!" Boruto whined, "Sarada come on, you're killin' me here!"

She ignored his wailing, too entranced by the sight she saw. "This chakra I'm seeing, it's… gold." Astonished, she quickly examined the rest of her surroundings, coming to the conclusion that the gold chakra only formed in one location. "It looks like something made of metal."

"I thought the Uchiha saw in all colors," the yellow-eyed boy said, surprised.

In the past, that was a statement she wouldn't know how to respond to. However, since her papa had been home she had gained a much greater knowledge of the abilities of her clan. In addition, she had been training with the Seventh Hokage when he wasn't busy. Both Boruto's dad and her own father had sparred on several occasions, so the leader of Konoha knew exactly where the young Uchiha needed to improve when it came to her clan's eye abilities. She thought back to one of her training sessions with the Seventh, when he took her around the village and had her identify people and their locations by the colors of their chakra. Despite their different shades, their general texture all looked the same to her; wavy and bright, like plasmatic fire burning from their bodies.

This new chakra however, made her anxious, and Mitsuki's statement did nothing to ease her mind. "I can see all colors, but that's not the problem. Chakra doesn't normally look like this. This one is just so… metallic."

Mitsuki stared ahead at nothing, trying to understand what his comrade was seeing. "Maybe it's a physical manifestation, like Boruto's Rasengan or your Fireball Jutsu."

"No, that's not it. This chakra definitely hasn't been physically manifested into anything. It's just sitting there in a cloud, but the center is much brighter than the rest, I'm assuming that's the source of it. I say we stay as far away as possible before—"

"Let's go check it out." Without skipping a beat the blue eyed boy ran ahead, curious and excited to see what this mystical chakra was.

"Boruto, no! You don't even know what it is! It could kill—oh why do I even bother?" Not wanting her crush to get hurt, Sarada ran as fast as she could to catch up to him, Mitsuki following quietly behind.

They sprinted frantically down the hall, Sarada's sight becoming almost blind to the bright gold it witnessed. "Boruto, I can't keep looking at this with my sharingan," she said between heavy breaths. "It should be in this room coming up."

"Okay, then we're going in!"

"I still don't think this is a good idea." She came to an abrupt stop when Boruto's forward motion ceased. The brief pursuit caused a dab of sweat to build on her forehead, yet her breathing hastily reset to a steady pace. Years of training and experience had increased her stamina, a fact that made her proud.

Boruto on the other hand brought his hands to his knees, not used to working hard for anything. "Phew! That was exhausting," he panted.

Mitsuki tilted his head. "You seemed so excited. I'm surprised that took so much out of you. It wasn't even that far of a run."

The blonde ninja snapped at him, "It doesn't help that I'm hungry!"

"Forget that, we shouldn't go in there," she lectured, feeling uncomfortable that they were so close to the source of the strange chakra. She turned her sharingan on once again only to have her eyeballs pierced by the bright gold. Instinctively she clenched them shut and massaged her eyelids, attempting to rub out the sharp agony the light brought to her pupils. Looking up, her vision had gone back to its normal state and she realized her teammates were quietly staring at her. A low growl rumbled from the pit of her throat, "Boruto, we're not going in there."

Boruto didn't bother to ready himself for an argument and instead smirked at the concerned girl. He retorted smugly, "Then why did you tell me which room it was in?"

He had her there. Why _did_ she tell him? As much as she loathed the idea of going inside, she had to admit some tiny part of her was just as curious as her knuckleheaded friend. "I…"

The blonde cupped his hand around his ear and leaned in, waiting for her very obvious answer. "Come on, why'd ya tell me then?"

The fresh scent of earth ascended into her area as he stood extremely close. She could feel her face turn as red as a tomato, which she found frustrating. For one, she didn't like that he was capable of doing that to her. Two, she hated tomatoes, a point that her papa found upsetting. Tomatoes after all were one of the older Uchiha's favorite foods. Despite these two things, she realized she didn't have any witty comeback that she could through throw at him, even though she knew that he was just asking to taunt her.

Understanding her silence he grinned victoriously and opened the door. "That's what I thought. Now let's go see what this weird chakra thingy is."

"It's just chakra, not 'chakra thingy'," Mitsuki corrected.

Boruto brushed off his snarky friend and walked inside, prepared to witness something spectacular. He was instead greeted by a boring old room, similar to the one he was in earlier with Sarada. A wooden desk lay up against the wall, shelves stacked on top, the room dimly lit just like all the others. He turned around and peered at the girl. "Are you sure we're in the right place?"

She folded her arms. "Yes. I know how to use my sharingan."

He squinted his eyes at her. Accusingly he asked, "Did you lie to me then?"

She turned her head smugly. "No. Whatever it is that's causing the gold and metal chakra cloud is in this room."

Before the blonde ninja could retort, Mitsuki lifted his arm, pointing in the direction of the lonely desk. "Something is glowing over there."

"Huh?" Boruto made his way over to the wooden furniture and inspected its contents. Sure enough, he found the item that his teammate had directed their attention to.

Sarada stood behind him, gazing curiously over his shoulder. "What is that?" she asked.

"It looks like a crystal." The said piece was small, about the width and height of his pinky finger. It shined a bright green color; much different than the shade Sarada had described the chakra cloud to be. "This is probably what you were seeing with your sharingan, except its chakra is gold." He was about to pick it up when something else caught his eye. A petite scroll, tied by a vivid red thread, placed neatly next to the glowing treasure. The parchment appeared worn from the outside, however the thread looked fairly new. Feeling no sense of inhibition he snatched it up and secretly placed it in his jacket pocket.

Standing fairly close to him Sarada witnessed what he had just done. "What are you doing?"

Boruto smiled sheepishly at her. "It looks like something important. I'm gonna open it later."

"Put it back," she commanded. "It's not yours to take."

"You always do this," he argued. "You pretend like you don't want to know what anything is, but we all know that you're going to let me take it."

Her blood pressure rose. She never considered herself a pushover, but according to him it was quite easy to get something past her. Fury welled itself in the pit of her stomach and as a result she lunged at his jacket pocket, trying to retrieve the item the boy claimed she wouldn't bother with. "You're not taking anything this time!"

He fought her off while holding the opening of his pocket closed. "This is the last thing I'll take, I swear!"

"You're lying to me!"

Mitsuki walked away from the two and explored the opposite side of the room where a lonely bookshelf stood, filled to brim with paper knowledge. His index finger glided across each volume as he quickly read their spines. "Sarada," he called to the vengeful girl, "maybe there's something here that explains what the crystal is."

The raven haired girl halted her attack and looked curiously over in Mitsuki's direction, Boruto doing the same. They stood in a playful stance, with Boruto's hand gripping Sarada's wrist in midair and their legs parted as though they were ready to spar. Instead of moving they remained wide-eyed. Their mutual comrade had just snapped them out of the little world they were in.

Mitsuki on the other hand didn't bother to turn around, for he could already imagine what they looked like. The bickering between them was nothing new to the synthetic human. After perceiving their silence he continued, "There's a lot here about chakra usage and crystal experimentation. Some of these books appear to be of legends. I don't think my father made that crystal, he may have found it."

The two brought their hands down and stood in a more vertical stance. Boruto's tight grip on Sarada's wrist loosened a bit, however he didn't let go, a gesture that didn't go unnoticed by the girl. Her heart felt like it was about to burst from rapid speed.

Feeling her pulse elevate, Boruto looked at her with concern. "Hey are you okay? Your heart's beating really fast."

"I—uh," she wasn't sure what to say. This was something else he was occasionally able to do her; it was also something else she detested.

As if to save her from utter embarrassment, Mitsuki chimed in, "I'm sure she's fine. These books however could be of value to us."

Sarada thanked her yellow eyed teammate in her mind and concurred that it was best to move on. "Mitsuki, I thought we came here to look for synthetic humans like you. This other stuff is really none of our business."

"I understand, but the crystal's chakra alarms me. It's not something that I want getting into the hands of the wrong people. I know my father has made a lot of enemies during his lifetime. If anyone gets a hold of this it could be a disaster."

He was right, she thought. They had unfortunately stumbled upon something that could be detrimental to their existence. "Alright, we'll do a little research. But if we don't find anything then we'll just leave it for now and tell the Hokage. Agreed?"

Before Mitsuki could choose, Boruto decided to throw in his two cents, "Why are we looking stuff up? Let's just take it back to my dad and get the hell outta here. I want to eat!" Annoyed with his teammates he grabbed the dense object without thinking.

"Boruto, no!" Sarada shouted, attempting to stop him, but she was hindered by the hand that still held onto her. In a burst of green color the crystal's glow expanded and covered the two ninjas.

"Boruto! Sarada!" Instinctively Mitsuki moved to save his teammates, but was forced to stand back as his vision went blank from the immense luminosity. He covered his face with arms, preparing himself for possible debris as a result of the crystal's explosion. A few seconds went by, and the bickering he had heard earlier ceased entirely. The blue haired boy dared to open his eyes. What he found disturbed him.

Both Boruto and Sarada were gone.

"No…" He was stunned, but only for a brief moment. In a panic he ran out the door, hastily looking for a way out of the lair so he could head back to village and get help.

 **xXx**

The birds chirped as broad wings flew through the clear sky, unaware of the strange girl that lay out of place in their world.

Onyx eyes opened as quiet leaves fell against her skin. "W—what… happened?" Sarada sat up and rubbed the back of her head. A throbbing agony pulsed throughout her body. She looked around and noticed that she was surrounded by tall trees and shrubbery. "I'm… outside?"

The raven haired girl regrettably stood up as a sudden dizziness overtook her. After a moment she managed to find her balance and remain steady. Calmly, she inhaled, aiming to remember how she happened to end up in the wilderness. She brought her skinny index finger to her large forehead. "Let's see, I was in Orchimaru's lair… there was as scroll… a crystal… Boruto!"

The memories came rushing back and in a panic she looked around for her teammate. "Boruto!" she shouted, hoping that she would hear his whiny voice somewhere in the distance. "Boruto, where are you!"

With no luck she hurriedly activated her sharingan and searched for his chakra. A blue blaze caught her eye and she impulsively sprinted in its direction. His chakra meant he was alive, yes, but for how long she wasn't sure. The memory of where she started and how she ended up in front of the blonde's unconscious body had vanished. She found her knees had instinctively fallen to the ground and in the blink of an eye attempted to shake the boy awake. "Boruto, wake up! Please, get up!"

No response. She placed her head on his chest, heard his rhythmic heartbeat and sighed in relief, engrossed by each thump it made. "Good, it sounds okay." The Uchiha girl recalled seeing her mother deal with similar situations. First the pink haired kunoichi would check to see if they had a pulse while simultaneously inspecting their breathing. The girl was ready to listen for his breath, even bringing her ear up to his chin, until she noticed his lips.

His pure, gentle lips. They looked… so soft. And he was so quiet. A delicate hand made its way up to the boy's cheek, her eyes glistened as she observed mellow breaths emitting from his mouth. "He's breathing, that's good," she whispered to herself, taken by his charming features. She wanted to pull away from him, but instead found herself too dazed by his serene nature. Her small hand caressed his rosy flesh, gliding like silk across the spectrum. Slowly, her face inched towards his, desiring nothing more than to feel the tender sensation of his lips on her own. She could hear her heart beat in her ears, the tempo quickening as their quiet breaths mingled. Nothing existed anymore. Not the birds, the forest, not anything, only them.

And then he burped.

Sarada froze and turned as pale as a ghost. For someone who hadn't eaten, the stench that arose from his mouth was immense. Intuitively she cupped her hands over her own and gagged, falling on her behind as his breath nearly destroyed her nostrils. And then she heard something.

Was he… snickering?

"You've been awake!" Once she got over her initial reaction she opened her hand and slapped him across the face. "Shannaro!"

Boruto opened his eyes just in time to see his impending doom. Before he knew it a red mark in the shape of his friend's hand had imprinted itself on his right cheek. "Ow! What'd you do that for?"

She growled, "You deserved it!

He rubbed his throbbing face and sighed. "I just wanted to have some fun. I figured you would check to see if I was still breathing. I've seen your mom do it like a million times."

The young Uchiha looked surprised for a moment, but when she thought back she did recall that Boruto had come with her to visit her mother at work. On several occasions, Sakura would teach the general shinobi population, and a few eager citizens, how to check if someone was still alive. Getting up close and personal with the victim was a method meant for those who weren't as experienced.

But Sarada already knew that her teammate was breathing. The raven haired kunoichi was just happy that's all he thought it was. Now annoyed she asked, "So you burp in my face for trying to save your life?"

He chuckled, "Yeah, you were taking your sweet time. It felt like you were staring at me forever, and then you started rubbing my face."

Her cheeks flushed a heated red, and this time Mitsuki wasn't there to save her. To avert his attention from her embarrassment she thought of anything she could to change the subject. Suddenly she noticed something glimmer behind him, directly past his sunshine colored hair. "Is that the crystal?" She crawled and extended her reach to retrieve the item. Turning it over in her hands she inspected it, noting that the once bright green color had faded into a dull grey.

Boruto tilted his head and raised an eyebrow. "It looks like it's out of power," he said. "Oh wait!" The blonde reached inside his jacket pocket and pulled out the scroll he had taken earlier.

The Uchiha glared at him. "You should've put that back."

"I was going to, but then the crystal went off and now we're here." His thoughts wandered for a moment. "I hope Mitsuki's alright."

She nodded in agreement. "I think he is. I remember him yelling our names, but I'm almost positive he wasn't caught in the blast."

Boruto sighed, "Well that's good at least. We should go and find him. This crystal obviously has some teleportation chakra or something. You remember where the lair is?"

She shook her head regrettably. "No. I'm sure he'll be fine on his own for now. He's strong and it's not like he's in some stranger's place. It's his dad's, remember?" Steadily she stood up, observing the nature that surrounded them. "I think I know where we are in relation to the village though. It's about a thirty minute walk from here. We can make it back by sundown if we head home now."

"Hold on a sec." Without warning he began to untie the knotted thread that kept the scroll in place.

Upon seeing this she lightly tugged on his ear and scowled, "Are you kidding me? Don't open that! It doesn't belong to you!"

"Hey!" He pulled away from her and pouted like a child who was just told he couldn't have any candy. "Oh come on, don't tell me you're not the least bit curious what it is."

She rolled her eyes. "That doesn't matter. What matters is that—"

Before the girl could finish he unraveled the wilted paper and out fell a small, round object. Boruto curiously picked it up. "What the heck is this thing?"

She quickly snatched the new item from him and looked it over, rotating it clockwise as her eyes remained fixated on the top. Not seeing anything interesting she flipped it over and was taken aback by the sight of her own reflection. Black hair and dark eyes, thin lips, flushed cheeks… she looked like a mess. The Uchiha frowned, "It's just a mirror. It looks like something girls keep on them to do their makeup."

"Well that's disappointing. What's the point of putting a mirror in a scroll?" he grumbled. The blonde ninja went to grab it back from her when suddenly the mirror shined a bright green, similar to the reaction of the now faded crystal. The color stunned them both and without hesitation Boruto slapped the item out of her hand. It traveled about 6 feet away, far enough for them to observe safely. They watched as the initial spark died down almost as instantly as it started and identically they both stared, debating in their own minds whether they should pick it up or not.

The two ninjas sat for about a minute before Sarada finally made the choice to move. "I'll get it," she said timidly.

However Boruto beat her to the punch. Scared, he held it up and examined its round structure. "I don't understand what just happened…" He wasn't sure what to say. He gazed at his teammate and noticed she was shaking. Soothingly he cooed, "Hey, we're okay. This one glowed and everything and look—" he held out his arms and turned in a full circle for her, as though he were some type of runway model. "We're not hurt or anything."

She smiled at his efforts, truly happy that he cared enough to do that. It was one of the many traits of his that she admired. "Yeah, you're right. Thanks."

He smiled back at her, and for a moment she could have sworn she saw some sort of affection in his azure eyes.

Resolving to get back on track for once, Boruto stared seriously at the item he held. "What do you think that was?"

Despite enjoying the small moment they shared, she sadly had to accept that it was over. "I don't know. Maybe we activated it somehow, like the crystal did." She observed her status and confirmed that they were still in the same location. "Well we're still in the same spot. Does the mirror look any different to you?"

"Hmmm…" He squinted at where the once reflective surface was. "The mirror part is gone."

"What?" She got up quickly and stood by him, looking down at the scroll's treasure. Surrounded by a silver frame was a reflection of what appeared to be torches and stone walls. "Hold on a minute…" Her eyes widened as she recognized the area. "That's Orichimaru's lair."

Stunned, Boruto took a closer look. "You're right! Wait, why would the mirror show us that? Stupid thing!"

She turned her back to him and brought her thumb to her chin. Delving deep into her thoughts she paced for a moment, striving to pull out an answer to the mirror's reaction. Boruto watched her, entranced by how quickly she could divulge herself into her own mind.

Then the color drained from her face.

"Sarada… what is it?"

"Boruto," she said with urgency, "we need to read that scroll."

"Okay…" Confused, he picked up and held it open, reading out loud the words written on the parchment:

 _Past, present, and future are all that's left,_  
 _The present will be distorted based past's theft._  
 _Green, shimmering light shines with a mystery,_  
 _Touch the color and you will experience history._  
 _A past so pure, untouched, and necessary,_

 _Disruption will cause time to vary._  
 _History must not be tainted by all,_  
 _For time as you know it will fall._  
 _Once caught in time's tight embrace,_  
 _It's time to go and look for the case._  
 _It shines bright and true with colors of gold,_  
 _But it belongs to the shrines of the old._  
 _Buried deep within their darkest secrets,_  
 _Only those who read will see where it's kept._  
 _History must not be tainted by all,_  
 _Otherwise time and existence will fall._

Slowly, he brought the document down and stared morbidly into the depths of the forest. A bead of sweat dripped from his hairline to his chin. "Sarada…" The girl remained abnormally quiet. Her intense aura made him gulp in anticipation. "What does this mean?"

She balled her small hands into a fist as her once confident onyx eyes glazed over with horrific understanding. She looked up at the sky, shakily realizing the puffy white clouds that floated effortlessly above her were unfamiliar. Grimly, she said, "Boruto, I think we're in the past."


End file.
